Aghmat 2.62

Aghmāt was an important medieval Berber town in mid-southern Morocco. It is today an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat". The city is located approximately 30 km south-east of Marrakesh, on the Ourika road. The initial "A" of the name may be unvocalized, and the name may sometimes be spelled Ghmat, Ghmate or even Rhmate .According to a Berber legend, Aghmāt was populated by Christian Berbers when it was conquered in 683 by the Muslim forces of Uqba ibn Nafi, a general of the Rashidun Caliphate. However, this story first surfaces almost 700 years after that date, and many historians give it no credibility. It is directly contradicted by one of the earliest Persian historians, al-Baladhuri. who states that Musa bin Nusair conquered the Sous and erected the mosque at Aghmāt.Early historyAfter the death of Idris II in 828, Morocco was divided among his sons. Aghmāt became capital of the Sous region under the Idrisid prince Abd Allah.When the Almoravids invaded from the Sahara Desert under Abd Allah ibn Yasin, Aghmāt was defended by Laqūt, leader of the Maghrawa tribe. Laqūt was defeated and the Almoravid army entered the city on 23 Rabi II 450 (27 June 1058). One of the wealthiest of Aghmāt's citizens was Laqūt's widow, Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyat, who married the Almoravid leader Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar and placed her considerable wealth at his disposal. After Abu-Bakr returned to the Sahara Desert in 1071, Zaynab married his successor Yusuf ibn Tashfin.